Conestoga College to vacate buildings in Kitchener and Brantford as leases expire

Students and faculty at two downtown Conestoga College campuses in Kitchener and Brantford are moving in the coming months.

Conestoga College announced the leases at their Ontario locations at 274 Colborne St. in Brantford and 49 Frederick St. in Kitchener are expiring.

A statement from the college to CBC News says the programs offered at those locations will move to a new spot.

"In downtown Kitchener, academic-related operations will transition to 1 Young St.," the statement said.

"In Brantford, operations will move to 50 Wellington St.."

The Brantford move takes effect May 1 while the Kitchener move to Young Street will happen in September.

Student housing and other locations

Across from the Frederick Street campus in Kitchener, the college is in the process of renovating a former office building for student housing. The college says the redevelopment of that 12-story vacant office building at 22 Frederick St. will continue.

Colleges in Ontario have undergone a number of changes this year due to international student caps. Conestoga saw their intake of students cut by 50 per cent.

Support staff at Conestoga College were told at the beginning of April they can expect layoffs in the near future.

Vikki Poirier, president of OPSEU Local 238, which represents support staff at the college, said at the time they had been holding information sessions for employees knowing other colleges were cutting jobs.

Conestoga has also announced other relocations and partnership programs:

• The college says it will also welcome students to its new location in Stratford this fall.
• Phase 2 of the Conestoga Skilled trade campus in Cambridge is scheduled to welcome students in the fall of 2026. 
• The school has also partnered with the Grand Erie District School Board to form a new program with the board called the College-Within-a-School Program. It's the first one in the province. 

There's no word on the future of the buildings at Frederick Street in Kitchener or Colborne Street in Brantford.